The Union of Youth

The Petersburg-based society of artists Union of Youth is the first officially registered association of artists of the Russian avant-garde. It was established on February 16, 1910, before the Moscow-based Jack of Diamonds. Despite the exceptional contribution of the Union of Youth to the formation of the Russian avant-garde, there has not yet been a single exhibition dedicated to the first avant-garde group of Russia.

The Union of Youth was initially open to all stylistic innovations: it was conceived as a total project that consolidated young non-academic artists. Among its members were patron L. Zheverzheev, painter, graphic artist, theater artist I. Shkolnik (full-time secretary of the society), E. Spandikov (chairman), graphic artist V. Bystrenin, painters Ts. Schleifer, M. Matyushin, E. Guro, Z. Mostova, N. Lyubavina, and sculptor R. Voinov.

The Russian Museum has the most representative collection of works by member artists and exhibitors of the Union of Youth. The exhibition will show about 200 items (paintings, drawings, scenographic projects, as well as posters and archival materials) from the collections of the Russian Museum, St. Petersburg Museum of Theater and Music, the State Art Museum of Latvia, the National Gallery of Armenia, the Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, Ulyanovsk Regional Art Museum, V. V. Mayakovsky State Museum, State Literary Museum, Omsk Museum of Fine Arts named after M. A. Vrubel, Yaroslavl Art Museum and private collections.

The exhibition will feature more than 250 paintings and graphic works by Ilya Repin: recognized masterpieces by the master and his little-known works, as well as memorial items related to the life and work of the artist.

The Russian Museum is the exclusive owner of all the interior images and pieces of art of the Russian Museum collection, as well as all the images and text information given on its official site. The usage of the texts and images provided on the site is only allowed with the permission of the Russian Museum.